Joe Toussaint, Mohamed Wague Give West Virginia Much-Needed Depth

Monday was a huge day for West Virginia basketball, as the coaching staff was able to pick up two commitments from Iowa’s Joe Toussaint and JUCO big man Mohamed Wague.

These are two players that the staff put a lot of priority towards and they were able to secure both. On paper, they may not seem like season changing acquisitions, but Toussaint and Wague will fit into Bob Huggins’ system just fine.

Toussaint was liked by the staff a lot due to his defense and his assist-to-turnover ratio. The 6-foot guard averaged 1.4 steals and had 2.3 assists for every turnover, which is pretty good. While at Iowa, Toussaint showed his skill set to be a true point guard and bring a certain toughness to the floor every game. Toussaint can’t shoot the three too well, but he can drive into the paint and create plays at the rim.

Wague gives West Virginia needed depth at the center position. The team currently only had one big man in James Okonkwo and could use a few more bigs for the 2022-23 season. Last season, the Mountaineers struggled in the paint offensively and defensively. WVU finished 352nd in the country in defensive rebounding and 328th in two-point attempts. The team is losing Pauly Paulicap, Dimon Carrigan and Gabe Osabuohien to graduation while losing Isaiah Cottrell and Jalen Bridges to the transfer portal. 2022 commit Fede Federiko also de-committed from West Virginia on Monday. Bob Huggins and his staff could use some size from Wague.

Wague averaged 14.8 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks through 35 games in JUCO as a freshman, making the NJCAA All-American First Team. The forward shot 65 percent from the field as well. The Mali native can dominate the paint on both sides of the floor, while hitting majority of his shots within five feet or less.

West Virginia will now have two more scholarship spots to fill in for the 2022-23 season. WV Sports Now will keep up to date with the latest recruiting and transfer portal news during the offseason.